Editing Living Colour (section)

===Mainstream success (1986–1991)===
[[File:Living-colour-live1993.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Living Colour in 1993]]
In 1986 a stable lineup was formed, consisting of vocalist/actor [[Corey Glover]], guitarist [[Vernon Reid]], bassist [[Muzz Skillings]], and drummer [[Will Calhoun]] (who had graduated with honors from [[Berklee College of Music]]).<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> After hiring managers Jim Grant and Roger Cramer, the band hired prodigy [[lighting designer]] Andy Elias in November 1986 to strengthen their live shows with explosive visual productions.<ref>Panebianco, Julie. "Living Colour Rock The Ritz." ''East Village Eye,'' December 1986, p 6.</ref> The band became experienced at touring and performed regular gigs at the club [[CBGB]]. Around this time, their career also benefited from [[Rolling Stones]] singer [[Mick Jagger|Mick Jagger's]] involvement. Jagger's interest in Living Colour was piqued when Vernon Reid auditioned for the album ''[[Primitive Cool]]''; Jagger then arranged to see them live at CBGBs. Jagger went on to produce two of their demos. His endorsement encouraged major record labels to renew their interest in Living Colour, resulting in a recording contract with Epic Records.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2013/10/24/living-colours-vernon-reid-on-the-bands-formation-mick-jagger-and-reaching-audiences-through-grand-theft-auto|title = Living Colour's Vernon Reid on the band's formation, Mick Jagger, and reaching audiences through "Grand Theft Auto"| date=October 24, 2013 }}</ref> Interviewed in 2018, Vernon Reid looked back on the deal as a bittersweet triumph; "We had to get the co-sign from a person who literally embodied what rock 'n' roll is, the fact that he had to come see us, and dig us, for us to get at the back of the line is crazy."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2018/5/3/17312688/living-colour-cult-of-personality-vivid-30-years-anniversary|title = How Living Colour Reignited Rock's "Cult of Personality"|date = May 3, 2018}}</ref>

''[[Vivid (Living Colour album)|Vivid]]'', released on May 3, 1988, gathered sales momentum when, later that year, [[MTV]] began playing the [[music video|video]] for "[[Cult of Personality (song)|Cult of Personality]]". The album reached #6 on the U.S. [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart. On April 1, 1989, the band performed on [[NBC]]'s ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. Four months later, the band gained further exposure as an opening act, along with [[Guns N' Roses]], for [[The Rolling Stones]]' [[Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour]].

In 1990, the band's second full-length album, ''[[Time's Up (Living Colour album)|Time's Up]]'', featured songs in a variety of musical contexts; [[jazz fusion]], punk rock, [[Delta blues]], hip hop (cameos by [[Queen Latifah]] and [[Doug E. Fresh]]), funk, thrash metal, [[Jive (genre)|jive]], and hints of [[electronica]] were all represented.<ref>{{cite web |title= Living Colour Time's Up |author= Greg Prato |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/times-up-mw0000315449 |work= [[AllMusic]] |access-date= August 21, 2015 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150806185836/http://www.allmusic.com/album/times-up-mw0000315449 |archive-date= August 6, 2015 }}</ref> The album reached #13 on the ''Billboard'' 200,<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> and won a [[Grammy Award]] for Best Hard Rock Performance. Other guests included [[Maceo Parker]] and [[Little Richard]].<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/>

In 1991, Living Colour joined the inaugural [[Lollapalooza]] tour, and released an EP of outtakes entitled ''[[Biscuits (EP)|Biscuits]]''.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/>